Method of cutting blanks from sheet material



F. IVI. FURBER.

METHOD OF CUTTING BLANKS FROM SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATIO N FILED AUG. I 9. l 9 I 8.

Fig. 2.

Fig 5 /M/EN TUR- i 2f/M22@ UNITEDs-IATESEPATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK M. EURBER, or REvERE, "MASSACHUSETTS, (AssIGNoR To UNITED sHoEMACHINERY CORPORATION, vor rATERsoN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION E4 NEWJERSEY-Y METHOD or GETTING BEANxs ERoM SHEET MATERIAL.

' To all whom t may concern: f

Be it known that I, FREDERICK M. FURBER,

a citizen of the 'United States, residing at. Revere, inthe county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invelfted certain Imrovementsin Methods of Cutting Blanks rom Sheet Material, of which the followingdescription, in connection withthe acf companying drawings, is aspecification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating likeparts inthe several figures.

.This invention relates to improvements in metho' s of cutting stock.vThe invention is Iherein`set forth by way of illustration withparticular reference to its use in the cutting of blanks from sheetmaterial by cutting tools, such as dies, I'although the invention Y 1snot restricted to such use.

An object of the present invention isf to devise a method .of cuttingstock, such as sheet materialfthe practice of which will insure cleancutting ofv the stock without e frayed or ragged edges, objectionablecom pression or mutilation of the stock, or any of theotherdisadvantageous results frequentl 'experienced heretofore in theuse of know A methods vof cutting sheet material.

' for example as wooden ormetal beds, and

1 quently to be cut in such manner that it willv 1 the practice of whichwill generally bemore satisfactory and economical than methodsheretoforeY practised.

In one aspect the present invention contemplates positioning sheetmaterial subseitself 'serve as a cutting bed for a cutting operationperformed upon othersheet Inaterial superimposed onthis cutting bed,perv formingA a 'cutting operation on the superimpbsed sheet material,and subsequently utilizing other sheet material as a cutting bed whileperforming a cutting operation jon the first-named sheet.

In practice a number of sheets of material may besuccessively positionedto act as cutting beds and the cutting operations will be-performed uponsuccessive sheets of `material while cach in turn lies superimposed uponone of saidv cutting beds. i

. Specification of Letters atent. -V

Y Patented Nov. 8, 1921,.

pplication led Augpst 19, 1918. Serial No. 250,496. A

pecially in the use of wooden cutting beds.

Another advantage consists in the economy permitted from the fact thatthe material serving as a cuttingbed is itself in turn.. cut,A

thereby eliminating waste of material. V

To facilitate subsequent utilization of material which has served as acutting bed the present invention provides for positioning that materialfor a cutting operation there on in the same relation tov the cuttinginstrumentality in which the previously cut material lwas positioned.This is of particular advantage in that it permits the cutting tool tocut part way into the sheet material which is being used as a cuttingbed, as it is ldesirable or necessary in many instances for cleancuttingwithout, however, impairirig the availability of the cutting bedtobe in turn utilized. @ne way of obtaining this advantage is toposition two or more sheets of material with the top sheet and the lowersheet in locations determined'relatively to the path of a cutting toolby po- '.sitioning surfaces associated with the sheets andthe worksupport, the top sheet being removed after it has been cut and beingre-I placed with a sheet which has served as a lower sheet and which islocated in the saine `magazining stock. InA this aspectthe inventionprovides a novel and improved method of obtaining a unit magazinecontent.' The invention-alsol provides an improved method of cuttingright and left blanks.

While the invention in its broaderaspect relates to the'cutting of allkinds of stock,

for the purposes of illustration it is herein considered 1n connectionwith its application in the cutting of fillers and heelylifts and othershoe parts from relatively 4large sheets of material usually ofpredetermined dimensions so related nto the size of the parof the pileof sheets.

. ings 18 in the frame 10.

ticular blanks to be cut therefromv as to yield a known number of blankswith a minimum ofwaste. f

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective` view, partly in section, ofa cutting machine which may be "signed to support the die carrier 30. In

used in the practice of the -method yherein described;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a sheet of material illustrating one method ofcutting blanks therefrom; and' A Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are detail sectionalviews illustrating a method of cutting blanks from each sheet insuccession from top to bottom The mechanism shown` is illustrativemerely of one type of mechanism which may be utilized in practising` theherein-disclosed method of cutting blanks from sheet material. Whilethis improved method of cutting blanks has wide application in variousarts, it is here related more particularly to proc.- esses involved inthe manufacture of fillers for shoe soles. As illustrated, the machinecomprises a work support 6 designed to support the stacks or piles ofsheet material for the operation of the die 8. The movable table or worksupport is conveniently mounted for sliding movement on a frame 10 bymeans of tracks or guides 12 which coperate with correspondingly shapedguideways or grooves 14 on the under side of the support 6. For easyadjustment of the work table there is provided at one end ofthe same ahandle 15 and adjacent thereto a latch 16 spring-pressed downwardly sothat the 5said latch may be caused toengage selectively any one' of aplurality of open- Obviously, the spacing between the openings 18 willcorrespond with the dimension of the blank in the direction of thelength of the table or work support since the purpose of the adjustmentis to provide for the cutting of successive rows of blanks from eachsheet on the table. Mounted upon the table are pegs or studs 20 whichserveA the purpose of holding the superimposed sheets of material inpredetermined relation so that the sheets may not be displaced duringthe operation of the die thereon and in order that the lowermost sheetmay be removed from the table or support and placed upon a stack ofsheets newly introduced into vthe'machine andJ then ocl cupy the sameposition relative to the die that tirely under certain circumstanceshereinafter discussed.

The mechanism for operating the die in the illustrative machinecomprises acrosshead 22 arranged to be reciprocated vertically bypitmen, one at each end of the order that the carrier may be moved alongthe cross-head and temporarily secured in ladjusted position, there isprovided a member 32 pivoted at 34 to the block 28 and provided with ahandle 36-for manipulation ofvsaid member. Extending upwardly from themember 32 at one side of the cross-head is a locking member 38 having anend portion designed to engage'selectively in any one of a plurality ofnotches in a bar'40 detachably secured to .the side of the crosshead.Obviously, these notches, one of which is shown at'42 on the upper edgeof the bar40 and another at 43 on the lower edge thereof, are spaced inaccordance with the dimension of the blankcrosswise of the table and inaccordance also with the plan adopted in cutting blanks from the sheetmaterial. of a different shape or of a different size than that shown,or when cutting blanks in a 'different order from that disclosedinplaced by another bar having the notches` placed to correspond withthe new work or the new mode. of procedure. As each blank is cut fromthe sheet material it is forced upwardly in the die by each succeedingblank until the blanks enter and completely fill a magazine 44 which issecured to the hollow die 8 in such a way as to form an upward extensionthereof. When the magazine becomes filled the machine will Jbe allOWedto rest until Ithe magazine can be emptied, the arrangement being suchthat normally a predetermined number of` sheets will be .cut into blanksin completely filling the magazine. In selecting the stock or sheets ofmaterial to be operated upon, it is desirable that the sheet be of suchdimensions that when cut into blanks, the said blanks will'just llthemagazine, thus conveniently determining the duration of one set ofoperations of the mechanism used in carrying out the method' hereindisclosed. Thus at the end of the operation of cutting a sheet intoblanks, another sheet is positioned, or is discovered in. position, forcutting, and an empty magazine substituted for the 4filled one.

In cutting blanks of the shape illustrated in the drawings, wherein eachblank is shown to be wider at one end than at the other, and so shapedas to provide what may -be denominated rights and lefts, the

When it is 'desired to cut blanks method followed is illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2 and is seen to comprise the steps of cutting two rows ofblanks with the wide end of the die facing in oneJdirection and thenrevers-A ing the die end for end to cut 'blanks from the materialbetween the cut-out prtions resulting from the rior operations. Re-

ferringto Fig. 2 of t e drawings, the reference character a denotes thestartinoi point in cutting blanks from this sheet. The blanks b are cutin succession with the large end of the die facing in one directionuntil the point c is reached and the blank at that point cut from thesheet. During the movements of the die just described the member 32engages the lower row of notches 43. Thereafter .the die is adjusted inreverse position,

that is, with the Ylarge end pointing in the opposite direction. The dieis sov mounted that in the reversing operation it is moved laterallyhalf the normalspacing and then operated to cut the first blank ai.vThereafter the adjustments of' the die laterally follow the normalspacings of the notches 42 on the upper edge of the bar 40 and thesucceeding blanks. d are cut from the sheet material. Provision foradjusting the die alternately in reverse positions is made by a'connection between the die carrier` 30 and the block 28 which comprisesa shaft 46 extendingthrough a sleeve 48 integral with the said block 28.In order to secure the carriage 30 in the desired relation to the block28 it is necessary only to tighten the winged nut 5() after manipulationof the hand wheel 52ste effect the rotation of the shaft 46 in thedesired direction. It will -be understood that the .mechanism hereindescribed illustrates but one form of mechanism that may be used in thepractice of my invention and that the essential features of saidmechanism are the work support, the die and themeans for forcing the diethrough the sheet material carried by the work support. Clearly, the diemay be entirely free of any operatin mechanlsm so that it may beositione manually in the restricted sense o the term. It will beunderstood also that the term die is used because of its convenience andis intended to cover punches and othe` cutters used in cutting blanksfrom. sheets.

- In practising' the method illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 of thedrawings, a stack of sheets is placed upon vthe table with the pins 2Qengaging in perfor-ations in Jthe said sheets to .hold them inpredetermined superimposed relation and the die is then operated theretoas a cutting-bed sheet as in the preceding operation. This series ofoperatlons v is repeated until the lowermost sheet is reached, whichsheet has served asl a cuttingbed sheet for the sheet next superjacentther stack of sheets newly introduced into the machine. Since the pinson the work support hold the sheets in predetermined relation relativeto the die, the top sheet, which in the preceding` operation served as acutting-bed sheet, will have the incisions made therein by the dielocated in proper alinement with the die so that in the operation ofcutting blanksl from said sheet the die will enter the sheet throughsaid incisions and cut blanks therefrom free' from any cuts orincisions. In some classes of work the blanks will be put to such usethat it is a matter of indifference whether or not the slight incisionsmade by the die when the sheet served as a cutting-bed sheet appear inthe blanks. In' such cases the pins 20 may be dispensed. with, thusomitting the step ofperforating or recessing in the process justdescribed. It is pointed out, that it is clearly within applicantsinvention to modify the method above described to the extent of cuttingthrough a plurality of sheets of material at one time instead of cuttingeach sheet in succession. Thus the die may be caused to cut blankssimultaneously from the first five sheets, for instance in Fig. 3,utilizing the lowermost sheet as the cutting-bed sheet, the 'procedurethen being to remove the sheets from which the blanks havebeen cut andalso said lowermost or cutting-bed sheet and place the latter upon a newstack of sheets positioned for cutting on the work support. Furthermore,under vcertain circumstances, it is contemplated to cut through aplurality of sheets at one operation to a Sheetntermediate .in the stackof sheets, the latter sheet serving as a cut# ting bed and then torepeat this operation, cutting aplurality fV sheets in sets succes,-sively until the lowermost sheet of the stack is reached, removing thesheets whif 1 have been cut into blanksand placing sail lowermost sheeton a new rstack of sheets l before described. Obviously, in cutting tVough a plurality of sheets individually and in .uccession as, abovedescribedl and in cutting. through pluralities'of sheets in sets and insuccession, adjustment mustbe made either of the die or of the worksupport between the o erations of cutting each sheet or'each vset osheets into blanks. Such adjustment,

especially of the work support, is broadly old and well known in anumber of arts and accordingly no specific disclosure of such amechanism is deemed necessary.

Applicant is aware of the fact that a strip of paper has been used inaperforating machine as a backing forl the work during the operation ofthe punches. In such a machine it is necessary to provide means for-feeding the strip of paper backing over the work support and tov rewindit for further use. This strip, moreover, can be used only a few timeswhen it must be discarded and a new supply introduced into the machine.In the said machine, furthermore, they strip of paper used is relativelynarrow and, because of this and its light weight, can be readily handledby the machine and is not prohibitively expensive. The diliiculties inthe way of a successful adaptation of such a backing Strip to thedieing-out and clicking machines, which are used in cutting relativelylarge blanks from sheet Amaterial such as leatherboard and felt, wereunsurmountable from the practical standpoint and hence the use of ysucha backing strip with the machines mentioned wasY never seriouslyconsidered by those skilled in this art. Moreover, the expense of usingy'a paper backing strip with machines of the type described would beprohibitive. By applicants in vention the backing strip is found in thesheet material being cut into blanks, thus eliminating entirely theelement of expense. Furthermore, unlike the method involved in the useof the strip refered to, the improvement proposed by applicant presentsas a feature of the greatest importance the provision of a fresh cuttingbed for each sheet or set of sheets operated upon by the cutting means,thus invariably securing blanks having clean cut edges.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United lStates is l. That improvement inmethods of cutting blanks from sheet material for shoe bottom partswhich comprises positioning sheet material to servel as a cutting bed intaking the thrust of the cutter, superimposing upon said cutting bedsheet material for a plurality of blanks performing cutting operationsupon said superimposed sheet material, and subsequently utilizing othersheet material as a cutting bed and performing cutting operations uponsaid first-named sheet material. Y

2. That improvement in methods of cutting sheet material for shoe bottomparts which comprises successively positioning sheets of material eachto serve during a plurality of cutting operations as a cutting bed inreceiving the cutting edge of the cutter, and performing cuttingoperations upon successive sheets of material while .each in turn liesin cutting position with relation to one of said cutting beds.

3.l That improvement in methods of cutting sheet material for shoebottom parts which comprises positioning sheet material in predeterminedrelation to a cutting instrumentality, superimposing sheet material tobe cut upon saidlirst-named sheet material, performing a cuttingoperation upon the superimposed sheet material while said first-namedsheet acts as a cutting bed, and

" subsequently positioning said first-named determined relatively to thepath of a cutting tool by positioning surfaces associated with thesheets and the work support, cutting through the top sheet and into saidlower sheet, removing the top sheet and replacing it with a fresh sheetAwhich has served as a lower sheet and which` is located in the samerelation to the path of the cutting tool, and cutting through saidreplaced sheet in the yincisionpreviously made by cutting into it.

5. That improvement in metho'ds of cut-v ting and magazining stock whichconsists in selecting a sheet of predetermined dimensions relative tothe size of blankstoy be produced in such manner that the magazine willbe completely filled when the maximum number of blanks have been cutfrom the selected sheet and introduced into the maga-2 zine, cutting upthe vsheet and filling the magazine with the blanks whereby a unitmagazine content is obtained, and replacing the scrap with, afresh'sheet and the filled magazine with an empty magazine.

6. That improvement in methods of cutting right and left blanks from asheet which consists in cutting over the sheet at regularly spacedintervals with a die positioned to cut one kind of blanks, repositioningor replacing the die to cut the other kind of blanks and cutting overthe sheet in said intervals.

7. That improvement in methods of cutf ting right and left blanks from asheet whieh consists in positioning a die to cut one kind of blanks,relatively moving the die and sheet to cut out successive rows of blanksseparated by regularly spaced intervals in the rows, then repositioningor exchanging the die to cut the other kind Jof blanks and relativelymoving the die and sheet reversely to cut over the sheet again in thesaid intervals.

8.V That improvement in methods of cut ting sheet material for shoebottom parts which comprises the steps of placing a plurality of sheetsin superimposed relation on a support, cutting through one sheet andsimultaneously therewith utilizing the sheet next subjacent thereto as acuttingjbed in bed for the sheets being operated on, remov- `readilystacked in ing the said lowermost sheet which has served as a cuttingbed and placing it on top of a fresh stack of sheets placed on the worksupport, and proceeding to repeat the operations herein recited.

10. That improvement in methods of cutting sheet material for shoebottom parts which comprises the steps of placing a plurality of sheetsupon a work support, maintaining the sheets in predetermined relation toa cutting tool throughout a series of operations resulting-in cuttingthrough all of the sheets except the lowermost, the cutter beingoperated to penetrate only part way into said lowermost sheet, removingthe scrap Vand also said lowermost sheet from the work support, andplacing said lowermost sheet on top. of a fresh pile of sheets placedupon the work support in said relation to the cutting tool.

11. That improvement in methods of cutting sheet material for shoebottom parts which comprises the steps of placing two sheets insuperposed contacting relation upon a work-support, cutting through thetop sheet and part way only into the bottom sheet so that the saidbottom sheet serves as a cutting bed, lifting the cutting-bed sheetafter it has served a plurality of times as a cutting bed, and insertingthereunder a fresh sheet, cutting the sheet which served as acutting-bed sheet, and proceeding to repeat the steps herein recited. c

12. That improvement in methods of cutting sheet material whichcomprises the steps of perforating or recessing a plurality of sheets ofmaterial so that they may be predetermined superimposed relation,placlng the said sheets on a work support wlth pins or lpegs fixed tosaid work support extending t rou h said per'- forations in' the sheets,thus olding.I the sheets in said Ipredetermined relation, forcing a diethrough one or more sheets, utilizing as a cutting beda sheet subjacent'to the placing a plurality of sheets in superimposed relation on asupport, cutting through one or more of the sheets with a die andsimultaneously therewith utilizing one of the sheets in the pile as acutting bed to support the sheet or sheets being operated on and toreceive the cutting edge of the die, removing the scrap material,repeating the steps above recited until all of the sheets except thelowermost sheet are cut into blanks, and removing the said lowermostsheet and placing it on top of a new pile of sheets.

14. That improvement in methods of cutting blanks from sheet materialwhich comprises the steps of perforating or recessing a plurality ofsheets of material so that they may be readily stacked in superimposedpredetermined relation, placing the said sheets on a work support withthe aid of Sheet locating means, engaging said perforations or recessesin the sheets, thus holding the sheets in said predetermined relation,forcing a die through one or more sheets, utilizing as a cutting bed asheet subj acent to the sheet 'or sheets being operated upon, removingthe blanks and scrap resulting from each dieingout operation, and whenthe lowermost sheet of the pile has served as a cutting bed, removingsaid lowermost sheet and placing it upon a fresh stack or pile of sheetsplaced on the work support.

15. That improvement in methods of cutting sheet material to obtain fromeach sheet a plurality of blanks for shoe parts which comprises placingtwo sheets in superposed relation, cutting through one sheet and partway only into the other and repeating the operation to secure aplurality of blanks while the said other serves as a cutting bed intaking the thrust of the cutter, placing a fresh sheet in contactingrelation with the cutting-bed sheet, cutting the sheet which previouslyserved as a cutting-bedv sheet while using said fresh sheet as a cuttingbed, and repeating the steps herein recited.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERICK M. FURBER.

